The present invention relates generally to a semiconductor apparatus, and more particularly, to internal voltage generation technology.
A semiconductor apparatus typically includes an internal voltage generation circuit that utilizes an externally applied power supply voltage to generate an internal voltage. Such an internal voltage generation circuit should facilitate reduced power consumption and effective use of power of the semiconductor apparatus.
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing changes in internal voltage of a conventional semiconductor apparatus.
Referring to FIG. 1, when the level of a power supply voltage VDD increases in a state in which power is not stabilized, an internal voltage VINT generated by an internal voltage generation circuit of the conventional semiconductor apparatus increases in correspondence to the increase of the level of the power supply voltage VDD. Once the power supply voltage VDD has reached a target voltage level, the internal voltage VINT will maintain a constant voltage level. As shown in FIG. 1, although the power supply voltage VDD increases to a voltage level greater than that of the target voltage level, the voltage level of the internal voltage VINT is maintained.
Meanwhile, a semiconductor apparatus may operate in various frequency bands. The semiconductor apparatus is designed in such a manner that when operating at a high speed in a high frequency band, the semiconductor apparatus uses a relatively high internal voltage. Furthermore, when operating in a low frequency band, the semiconductor apparatus uses a relatively low internal voltage. However, since the conventional semiconductor apparatus is designed to maintain the internal voltage at a constant voltage level regardless of the operation frequency, unnecessary current consumption may occur or a target operation speed may be not satisfied, depending on the operation state.